Secure wireless networks for vehicles

• US 9,961,710 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2017
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Platform Science, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Platform Science, Inc.
• Inventors: Son, Don, Kopchinsky, Scott, Kennedy, John C., Fields, Jacob
• Primary Examiner(s): Jiang, Charles C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Soe, Kyaw Z
• Application Number:
  US15/624,814
• Publication Number:
  US 20170367142A1
• Time in Patent Office: 319 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/19 Connection re-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 Moving wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A system and method (600) of securely and accurately connecting mobile devices (110) to wireless networks in vehicles (210) by using encrypted wireless network configurations based on vehicle specific data is disclosed herein. The system comprises a vehicle (210) comprising an on-board computer (232) with a memory (231) having a vehicle identification number (233), a connector plug (235), and an motorized engine (234), a connected vehicle device (130) comprising a processor, a WiFi radio, a BLUETOOTH radio, a memory, and a connector for mating with the connector plug of the vehicle (210), and a mobile device (110) comprising a graphical user interface (335), a processor (310), a WiFi radio (307), a BLUETOOTH radio (306), and a cellular network interface (308).

Claims

1. A system for vehicle to mobile device secure wireless communications, the system comprising:

a vehicle comprising an on-board computer with a memory having a vehicle identification number (VIN), a connector plug, and an motorized engine;

a connected vehicle device (CVD) comprising a processor, a WiFi radio, a BLUETOOTH radio, a memory, and a connector for pairing with the connector plug of the vehicle; and

a mobile device comprising a graphical user interface, a processor, a WiFi radio, a BLUETOOTH radio, and a cellular network interface;

wherein the mobile device has been previously paired with the CVD and has been provided the SSID and an encrypted password;

wherein the CVD is configured to broadcast a WiFi network having a service set identifier (SSID), wherein the SSID is not published;

wherein the mobile device is configured to search for the vehicle having the CVD broadcasting the WiFi network with the SSID;

wherein the mobile device is configured to connect with the CVD using the encrypted password.

2. The system according to claim 1 wherein the mobile device is a tablet computer.

3. The system according to claim 1 further comprising a server for validating the pairing of the mobile device with the CVD.

4. The system according to claim 1 wherein the vehicle is a delivery truck.

5. The system according to claim 1 wherein the WiFi network uses an 802.11 communication protocol.

6. The system according to claim 1 wherein the CVD obtains a vehicle identification number (VIN) from the on-board computer and transmits the VIN to the mobile device over the WiFi network for verification of the vehicle.

7. A method for a secure connection to a wireless network of a vehicle, the method comprising:

broadcasting a wireless network having a service set identifier (SSID) from a connected vehicle device (CVD) connected to an on-board computer of a vehicle, wherein the SSID of the wireless network is not published, and the CVD has been previously paired with a mobile device;

searching at the mobile device for the vehicle having the CVD broadcasting the wireless network with the unpublished SSID;

connecting the mobile device with the CVD using an encrypted password;

wherein the vehicle comprises the on-board computer with a memory having a vehicle identification number (VIN), a connector plug, and an motorized engine;

wherein the CVD comprises a processor, a WiFi radio, a BLUETOOTH radio, a memory, and a connector for pairing with the connector plug of the vehicle; and

wherein the mobile device comprises a graphical user interface, a processor, a WiFi radio, a BLUETOOTH radio, and a cellular network interface.

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein the mobile device is a tablet computer.

9. The method according to claim 7 further comprising a server for validating a pairing of the mobile device with the CVD.

10. The method according to claim 7 wherein the vehicle is a delivery truck.

11. The method according to claim 7 wherein the WiFi network uses an 802.11 communication protocol.

12. The method according to claim 7 wherein the CVD obtains a vehicle identification number (VIN) from the on-board computer and transmits the VIN to the mobile device over the WiFi network for verification of the vehicle.

13. A method for finding a specific vehicle in a vehicle depot, the method comprising:

broadcasting a wireless network having a service set identifier (SSID) from a connected vehicle device (CVD) connected to an on-board computer of a vehicle in the vehicle depot, wherein the SSID of the wireless network is not published and the wireless network is only viewable to a previously paired mobile device, wherein the vehicle depot comprises a plurality of vehicles;

searching at a mobile device for the vehicle having the CVD broadcasting the wireless network with the unpublished SSID, the mobile device previously paired to the CVD; and

connecting the mobile device with the CVD, which allows a driver to find a specific vehicle using the encrypted password.

14. The method according to claim 13 wherein the vehicle comprises the on-board computer with a memory having a vehicle identification number (VIN), a connector plug, and a motorized engine.

15. The method according to claim 13 wherein the CVD comprises a processor, a WiFi radio, a BLUETOOTH radio, a memory, and a connector for pairing with the connector plug of the vehicle.

16. The method according to claim 13 wherein the mobile device comprises a graphical user interface, a processor, a WiFi radio, a BLUETOOTH radio, and a cellular network interface.

17. The method according to claim 13 wherein the mobile device is a tablet computer.

18. The method according to claim 13 further comprising a server for validating a pairing of the mobile device with the CVD.

19. The method according to claim 13 wherein the vehicle is a delivery truck.

20. The method according to claim 13 wherein the WiFi network uses an 802.11 communication protocol.